Italian company proposes theme park for Venice

In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, Alberto Zamperla, president of Zamperla Inc., the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, points at the San Biagio island, where he plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by cleaning up a toxic
— AP

In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, Alberto Zamperla, president of Zamperla Inc., the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, points at the San Biagio island, where he plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by cleaning up a toxic
/ AP

In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, Alberto Zamperla, president of Zamperla Inc., the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, points at the San Biagio island, where he plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by cleaning up a toxic — AP

In this photo taken Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, Alberto Zamperla, president of Zamperla Inc., the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, points at the San Biagio island, where he plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by cleaning up a toxic
/ AP

This rendering released Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, by the Zamperla Inc. press office, the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, shows how it will look the San Biagio island, where Alberto Zamperla plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits b— AP

This rendering released Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, by the Zamperla Inc. press office, the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, shows how it will look the San Biagio island, where Alberto Zamperla plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits b
/ AP

In this photo released Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, by the Zamperla Inc. press office, the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, the circle shows the San Biagio island, where Alberto Zamperla plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by clean— AP

In this photo released Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, by the Zamperla Inc. press office, the Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany, the circle shows the San Biagio island, where Alberto Zamperla plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice. The theme park is planned for this abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing both economic and environmental benefits by clean
/ AP

VENICE, Italy 
An Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany has unveiled plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice.

Antonio Zamperla, one of the main investors, said Wednesday the theme park is planned for an abandoned island that once housed an incinerator, bringing economic and environmental benefits by cleaning up a toxic site and creating 500 jobs.

The project envisions a 55-meter-tall (180-foot-tall) Ferris wheel, a rollercoaster and other rides, alongside installations illustrating the Venetian lagoon's fragile ecology and the city's history.

Zamperla is loath to call it an amusement park - an easy target for detractors in Venice - and the plan still faces a series of approvals.